PlayStation 2 Guide to Need for Speed Carbon

If you haven't tried any of the Need for Speed games on the Sony PS2 yet, then primarily it is an arcade style racing game where you begin with a single car and you have to compete through the game's challenges. While playing the game, you must constantly improve or purchase new cars so you can beat tougher opponents as you move further in the game.

For this game, you have three kinds of cars to choose from: the Tuner, Muscle and Exotic. Depending on the type of car you choose to drive, you will be able to unlock cars of other types aside from your starter type. So if you prefer the muscle type of car, you could still be able to add different types of cars in your collection.

This version of Need for Speed Carbon on the PlayStation 2, like the previous games in the series, is easy to grasp and play. The controls are sensitive to the commands, as you would have expected from a company like EA. The only drawback for this game is when you are 'drifting' round the Canyon Corners. The cars can side sweep a little too much, which could result to you breaking heavily as to try to prevent your car from going through the side of the cliff.

One thing that also needs to be pointed out is the button for the boost. If aside from the Need for Speed games you also play the Burnout games, you can easily get confused with the buttons used for both games. As the boost button for the Burnout games uses L1, the Need for Speed uses R1. Aside from this, the controls for both franchises are quite similar.

With a nice assortment of artists signed for this installment of the Need for Speed franchise, Electronic Arts has provided a nice ambience that should help transport you into the world of the game. The atmosphere and overall feel of the game is achieved not just with the songs, but with the sound effects as well. EA has exhausted all the resources they can use to ensure that this game ends up looking as best as possible. In fact, they've used real-life Porsche's, Lamborghini's, Mitsubishi's, and many others, and they've recorded them when accelerating, decelerating, and doing other car maneuvers. They have then incorporated this into the game to give the illusion that the cars you are driving in the game are the real thing.

There are some great Drift races to be run in this race, but you can actually finish this race without having to run a single one of them. Need for Speed Carbon is much shorter than Most Wanted, since the latter requires you to complete many challenges while the Need for Speed Carbon pits you against only 4 bosses.

To make the most out of your gaming experience, you need to give your cars a boost, even to the extent of using the new Autosculpt™ feature that will let you design the look of your car which offers you unlimited possibility. An online feature for this game would have made for a all-around perfect game, but EA chose to discard it this time for Carbon.